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A War, Before and After, Part 4 (The New York Times)

Posted onMarch 21, 2013

As part of a series featuring stories of U.S. military veterans who served in Iraq, Phil Klay ’05 writes about being in Ireland with the Dartmouth Rugby Team the day President George W. Bush delivered his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein. At the time, Klay was soon to be both a Dartmouth graduate and a commissioned member of the Armed Services. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 2005 to 2009.

On December 15, 2011—the day the war officially ended—Klay met a friend named Perry who’d been an Army medic. “We go to an upscale bar instead of one of our usual dives and order drinks. No TV, no distractions. Neither of us knows how to mark the event,” Klay writes.